Tell USDA not to approve 2,4-D-resistant corn

Dow and USDA hope to quietly approve a new genetically engineered seed line that basically swaps RoundUp (glyphosate) out and an even worse weedkiller (2,4-D) in.

We don't have much time to stop this.

With superweeds and superbugs emerging all over the country, Monsanto’s RoundUp Ready strategy of stacking seeds with herbicide-resistant traits is fast coming apart. Farmers across the Midwest and South are losing their fields to superweeds so formidable and fast-spreading that they break farm machinery, disrupt irrigation and more. But instead of abandoning a losing strategy, Dow is trying hard to get us all running faster on the same broken pesticide treadmill.

Tell USDA that you want off this ride. USDA opened a public comment period over the holiday break, as the Agency tends to do for controversial decisions they want to bury. But we’re paying attention. Dow aims to get 2,4-D-resistant corn to market this year, soy next year and cotton in 2015. Now is the time to say no.

Genetically engineered, herbicide-resistant seeds are the growth engines of the pesticide industry’s market strategy. Blocking their release into the marketplace enables us to head the pesticide industry off at the pass. More to the point, keeping 2,4-D resistant seeds in the bottle — and relying on 21st century ecological science and practice rather than WWII-era chemicals — gives us a chance to jump off the pesticide treadmill and protect ourselves from the suite of human health effects associated with 2,4-D: reproductive toxicity, endocrine (hormone system) disruption and cancer.

Please sign this petition to USDA urging the agency to say no to Dow's 2,4-D corn.

We are writing to urge you not to deregulate a new generation of genetically engineered crops designed to survive repeated spraying of the herbicide 2,4-D. Simply put, 2,4-D resistant seeds are a bad idea. Allowing these seeds on the market will drive up use of an antiquated, dangerous herbicide that is associated with cancer, reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption.

The history of glyphosate use in conjunction with RoundUp Ready crops tells us that widespread planting of 2,4-D resistant corn will lead inevitably to a surge in 2,4-D application.

2,4-D is well known to drift, both directly and through volatilization. This will devastate adjacent ecosystems and poses a very real threat to rural economies and farmers growing non-2,4-D-resistant crops. Conventional farmers will lose crops while organic farmers will lose both crops and certification, resulting in an economic unraveling of already-stressed rural communities.

2,4-D resistant corn follows the same short-sighted approach to farming taken by Monsanto's "RoundUp Ready" corn, which was engineered to resist glyphosate. The RoundUp Ready seed line is responsible for new breeds of superweeds and superbugs that have afflicted millions of acres of farmland across the Midwest and South. Please don't make the same mistake in approving 2,4-D-tolerant GE crops.

We urge USDA to reject Dow’s petition for approval of its 2,4-D resistant seed lines (whether corn, soy or cotton) and to devote more attention instead to research and development of safe and smart 21st century ecological approaches to weed management. These approaches can protect public health, conserve the environment and assure sustainable crop production by America’s farmers for generations to come.

Sincerely,

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Pesticide Action Network promotes healthy communities and a safe, fair and clean food system. We combine grassroots science with public will campaigns to replace highly hazardous pesticides with ecologically sound, socially just solutions.